HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetterJanuary 27, 2005-MIami City Commission
To The Chairman and All Commissioners, I am here as
one who loves Overtown and has seen and heard from my
elders what has been done to destroy Overtown under the
banner of renewing the area.
While I am suspicious, I do not have a specific
objection to any developer who comes in to redevelop
Overtown by working with those of us who have real stakes
in what happens. We will be there even after the developers
have returned to their out of state homes -if we can still
afford to live there.
My major concern today is that you may be empowering
one developer to become the master of all that happens in
Overtown's future. Crosswinds gave out a brochure at
Commissioner Allen's Town Hall Meeting last Saturday, and
it included other land beyond what you are granting to them
today. In its proposal to the CRA's Request For Proposal
related to Block 36, Crosswinds specifically referred to
receiving this property from you.
This appears to be another "secret deal" and land
grab, unless Crosswinds, or this Commission -by amending
your resolution -limits Crosswinds to developing what you
are granting to them today, until that development is
completed. This would allow others to present other ideas
and ways to redevelop Overtown above Northwest 8th Street.
If Crosswinds is committed to being a partner with the
residents of Overtown and to being open about its
intentions, they should clearly state today that it will
not attempt to acquire any more land to develop in Overtown
until it completes what it is receiving today
SUBMITTED INTO THE
PUBLIC RECORD FOR
ITEM Re, ON 1-a7--os.
The residents of Overtown are not like the Native
Americans, who had their land and way of life taken away
because of a more powerful group's view of what is progress
for them. You cannot just "rent" some black people, but
involve people who live and work there now. We will watch
this process closely for what it does for those of us who
are involved in Overtown now.